BY LUCY CAULKETT
A man collapsed and died after being given the drug methadone by his father to help him sleep, a court heard.
A man who supplied the methadone drug to his son killed him after he suffered a fatal reaction after two capsules of the class A drug by his father John in Leeds. Mark Cronian, who had been drinking at the time, suffered a fatal reaction to the drug given by his father.
John Cronian was said to be devastated and sobbing when police arrived at his home on Gilbert Close, Kirkstall in December last year. He told cops ” I gave him some methodone to help him sleep. He asked for it and I gave it to him” The case was described by prosecutors as tragic, but he was given an 18 month suspended sentence suspended for two years.
Mark Cronian, 37, suffered a fatal reaction after being given two capfuls of the class A drug by his father John, 59, at his flat in Leeds.
Leeds Crown Court heard Cronian was “devastated” and sobbing when police arrived at his then home on Gilbert Close, Kirkstall, on December 16 last year. He told officers: “I gave him some methadone to help him sleep. He asked for it and I gave it to him.” The CPS has looked into whether to charge him with manslaughter, but then concluded that the deceased had not only been drinking, but also been on other drugs before accepting the Methodone from his father. It was therefore impossible to conclusively determine that the Methodone was the main cause of the death, since there were other factors that could have caused the tragic death of Mark.
Prosecutor Tim Butters Mr Butters said: “It would seem that the cause of death is inconclusive and could have been contributed to by at least five factors. Therefore it would seem that when advice was taken as to whether to charge this defendant with manslaughter there was no reasonable prospect of conviction given the variables that were encountered with the toxicology report. This defendant should be sentenced on the basis of what he has been charged with, merely supplying the methadone.”
